Sonic X Final Cast Party
by TailsLovesCosmo
Summary: During the filming of the last season of Sonic X, Tails falls in love for real with the new actress, Cosmo. But with the show cancelled, and Cosmo laid off, can Tails work up the courage to tell her how he really feels before she exits his life for real?
1. Chapter 1

I came up with this wondering what it would be like if Sonic and company were actors. What would they be talking about at the end? Well, for one thing, of course, the now nearly legendarily non-existent episodes 79-104. And since my favorite couple was Tails and Cosmo, I thought, what if Tails really did like her, but he really was a nerd like he played, and she thought he was just a good actor when he said he loved her. This'll probably run four to six chapters.

SONIC X: FINAL CAST PARTY

"Look out, Eggman, we're coming for you!" Sonic said dramatically.

"And…cut!" the director said. "Now, let's reshoot that with the alternative line."

Sonic rolled his eyes. "Why are we doing two versions, anyway? I don't see why we don't just use the same line."

"Trust me," the director said. "Okay…roll 'em!"

"Things never stand still for long around here!" Sonic said.

"And…cut!" the director said for the last time. "Okay, gang, it's a wrap!"

"What about the next season?" Amy Rose asked. "I still haven't gotten the script for episode 79."

"Yeah, well…we'll let you know, kids," the director said. He looked very uncomfortable as he left.

In the green room, everyone discussed the lack of information on the show continuing.

"They can't cancel now!" Knuckles complained. "I just bought a new jet ski!"

"I just got a new computer!" Tails cried. "It's a good thing there's a new video game coming up!"

"I'm…happy for all of you," Cosmo said. She was already packing. "That you have game contracts."

"Cosmo, I'm sorry," Tails said. "I didn't think they'd just kill you off right at the end of the show!"

"I wasn't hired by Sega," Cosmo pointed out. "I never really had a contract. They told me I'd just be in a few episodes. I'm very lucky I got to be in the entire Metarex storyline."

"It wouldn't have worked without you," Cream said. "We needed somebody who wanted to stop the Metarex for the whole show really, really bad."

"Listen," Tails said, patting Cosmo on the arm, "I'm going to try to get you a cameo on one of our games. You did a great job. There's a game coming up that's not being made by Sega. Maybe I can work in a flashback or something."

Cosmo picked up the flowerpot with a small plant growing in it. "Maybe you can at least get my baby sister--or brother--in there. I'd better get this back to Mother."

The door banged open. The Metarex came in in full armor. "This is an outrage!" Dark Oak cried. "How dare they say our services are no longer required! _I _played Hamlet at Harvard! 'To be or not to be, that is the question! Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune…'"

"Ah, shut up!" Yellow Zelkova said, taking off his helmet. "Man, I thought those publicity pictures would take forever! I'm roasting in this thing, and I got killed off weeks ago!"

"How do you think I feel?" Red Pine demanded. "I got a few minutes air time months ago! A robot could have played my part!"

Dark Oak was still quoting Shakespeare. "'To sleep…perchance to dream!'"

"Daddy!" Cosmo cried. "You're embarrassing me!"

"No, I'm not, precious," Dark Oak said absent-mindedly. "You come from a fine acting family, Cosmo! You deserve a lot better than this stupid show!"

"Hey!" Sonic yelled. "Don't diss my show, Pops!"

"How rude!" Dark Oak declared. "Come, Cosmo! The air in this place smells funny!"

"Daddy!" Cosmo cried. "These are my friends!"

"Daddy will get you better friends!" Dark Oak insisted.

"Um, actually, Sir," Tails said, "we're having a cast party at the pizza place up the street, and we were hoping Cosmo could come with us."

"Please, Daddy!" Cosmo begged. She pouted.

"Here, let me take your brother," Dark Oak said. After having four girls, he was adamant that this would be a boy. "And don't stay out late." He glared at Tails. "Watch yourself, boy!"

"Y-yes, sir!" Tails said. Even out of character, Dark Oak was scary.

"Okay," Knuckles said, "let's party!" He grabbed Rouge, and planted a kiss on her lips. They had started going out together during the big Tournament storyline.

"Now's your chance to talk to Cosmo," Sonic hissed to Tails.

Tails blushed. He had been uncomfortable in every scene he'd had with her, because he was falling for Cosmo for real. The fact that the show had set them up had really embarrassed him. But now that she'd been killed off, he had no excuse to see her. Cosmo's mother, Hertia, was always polite to him, but her dad, Lucas, didn't like him. He was a has-been actor who hadn't worked in years. Tails had watched one of his movies one night. Lucas had played a psychopath there too.

"Um, Cosmo," Tails said nervously, "I…uh…would you…like to…dance? At the pizza place, I mean?"

"Sure," Cosmo said, "but I'm not too familiar with your dances." The Seedrians were foreigners. One of the reasons Cosmo's sisters had gotten such small parts in flashbacks was because they didn't speak very much Mobian. Cosmo spoke Seedrian, Mobian, and French. That had inspired the part of the script where Cosmo had translated the Metarex language.

"Let's go, honey!" Amy yelled, grabbing Sonic's arm. Tails watched them go. Amy had originally been hired for a manga long ago. Sonic, as the star of the games, had gotten her into Sonic CD. From there, her career had been spotty. Sonic had been cast with Sally in his second TV show, and she still appeared in his comic books. Amy Rose had been thrilled when she started getting good parts in the games, and then a contract part in Sonic X. Sure, she still wasn't officially Sonic's girlfriend, but as long as she ran around with a big hammer, screaming, no other girl dared get near him. So Amy was resigned to her part, if not totally thrilled with it. Well, if Amy could become a star from such humble beginnings, maybe Cosmo could as well. If Tails could get her regular video game work, maybe she'd start liking him back.

The pizza place was deserted. Sonic had talked the studio into renting it for the evening, so they'd have it all to themselves. Vector, Espio, and Mighty the Armadillo were sitting at a table. Poor Mighty. He'd made it into the comic books, but it was still an uphill road for him.

Charmy was dancing with his girlfriend, Saffron. Ray the Flying Squirrel was watching Bokkun eat a giant sundae. Bokkun's appetite had been picked up by the writers and worked into the show. Of course, Bokkun wasn't really a robot anymore than the Metarex had been, but no one could figure out just what Bokkun was. Frankly, he looked like a type of Japanese goblin.

"Ah!" Bokkun yelled, grabbing his head. "Brain freeze! Brain freeze!"

"Don't eat so fast, silly!" Cream said. She coughed. "I hate that crazy voice they make me use!" she said in her normal speaking voice. "It gives me a headache after awhile."

"Wanna dance, Cream?" Ray asked.

"Sure," Cream said, holding her hand out.

"Aw, man, he asked her first!" Bokkun said. "Stupid brain freeze!"

"Let's join them," Cosmo suggested. Tails took her hand and they stepped out onto the dance floor. Tails wasn't a good dancer, but Cosmo really only knew classic ballet, so they both looked clumsy when a slow rock song started playing.

"The show's over," Tails thought as he danced. "And Cosmo's been laid off! If I don't ask her out soon, she'll just dance right out of my life forever!"

Will Tails get up the nerve to tell Cosmo how he really feels, in real life? Maybe we'll find out in the next chapter!


	2. Chapter 2

SONIC X FINAL CAST PARTY

Chapter Two

"

Tails cringed as he stepped on Cosmo's foot. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" he said. "I'm such a klutz!"

"That's okay," Cosmo said, "I've just missed doing the same thing twice." She sighed. "Look at Amy and Rouge! Now those two know how to dance!"

"I don't think either of them are dancing to the same music we're hearing," Tails said. "Stupid!" he told himself. "Don't talk about other people. Say something to her!"

"Tails?" Cosmo said, "Are you all right?"  
"Huh? Why?" Was his nervousness that obvious?

"A fast song just came on, but you're still slow dancing," Cosmo explained.

"Oh! I'm sorry!" Tails said, blushing. "I am such a geek for real! Didn't take much acting for me to play a dweeb!"

At least while fast dancing, neither of them looked clumsy. And now that he wasn't holding her, his brain was starting to work again. "Okay, let's see. She has beautiful eyes. Say something about her eyes.

"You have beautiful eyes," he said. There! He said it. Now the ball was in her court.

Unfortunately, the door crashed open just then, and Silver and Blaze came in. Everyone started muttering. Only Amy and Sonic kept dancing.

"I'm sorry," Cosmo said. "Did you say something?"

"N-nothing!" Tails said. Man! It was like he was being kept from her in the real world as much as he had been in the show! Somebody up there didn't like him.

"It's cancelled!" Silver said suddenly.

"What?" Knuckles said. "Somebody cut the music!"

"Sonic X wasn't picked up," Blaze yelled over the music. "And we had deals to…" she realized she was shouting, and lowered her voice. "…and we had deals to come in during the next season!"

"But…but they left too many things hanging!" Tails said. "Cosmo's plant! Was it her coming back?" He felt her take his hand.

"And it looked like Eggman killed Chris," Sonic said. "And Nazo! We never did get to him!"

"And they're cutting the last scene that showed I survived," Shadow said, coming in. "So it looks like I died!" He turned to Cosmo. "And you don't even want to know what they're doing to your big death scene!" Shadow was an intern in the editing room. He wasn't really interested in acting. He wanted to direct.

"What did they do?" Cosmo and Tails asked at the same time.

"Apparently reincarnation upset somebody somewhere," Shadow said, sounding disgusted as he sat down at a table. "They're saying that your death scattered your seeds across the galaxy, and your clan will come back through them."

Cosmo blushed. "How could I have seeds to scatter?!?" She pulled away from Tails.

"The show's cancelled, they've moved on," Shadow said, opening a beer Rouge had sneaked into the studio in a huge, gaudy pink and blue purse. "So they just don't care about continuity or common sense or anything. I swear, if I had another job to fall back on, I'd drop out of this whole franchise!"

Cosmo was pacing the floor. "My dad's going to come down here and make a scene!" she was saying. "He'll hit somebody, and probably go to jail!"

"Calm down, Cosmo," Amy said. "I learned a long time ago that they're going to do whatever they want to do, and you can't change their minds. As for your dad, he's not going to find out any time soon, so you might as well relax for tonight."

"Relax?" Cosmo said. "I feel like the sword of Damocles is hanging over my head!"

"You know Rocky Horror?" Rouge asked.

"What?" Cosmo said. "That's from a story my father loves to tell. It's about a poor man who's jealous that the king has everything he could ever want. The king lets him play being king for a day, and he sees a sword hanging over his head on a slim cord. He asks the king to move it, but the king says his throne depends on it always hanging over his head. He knows it will fall someday and kill him, but as long as it doesn't, he's still the king."

"Huh," Rouge said, "So Rocky Horror's educational. How 'bout that?"

"Wait a minute," Sonic said. "They cancelled _my_ show, and didn't bother to tell me?"

"I told you, they don't care," Shadow said. "They're doing some Pokemon remake about dinosaurs or something now."

"What?" Sonic said. "That sounds so lame!"

"Cosmo, are you okay?" Tails asked. He helped her to a table. She sat down, then banged her head on the table. "Cosmo!"

"If my dad gets mad enough, he might move us!" she said. "I've moved around my entire life! I've never had a real home. I live in a trailer park! I'm finally making friends, going to school…" She started crying.

"Hey," Tails said. He patted her on the arm. "I don't want you to go, Cosmo! You're…you're a…good friend." Come on! He yelled in his head. That's what your character said in the show! Does something have to happen in real life to separate you forever before you say anything?

"Come on, everybody!" Sonic said. "Let's get this party started again! Somebody put the music back on! No slow songs!"

Bokkun rushed to ask Cream to dance with him. Unfortunately, Charmy had had the same idea. They ran right into each other.

"Hey!" Charmy said. "Watch it! I was just going to ask Cream to dance with me!"

"You watch it!" Bokkun said. "I'm going to ask Cream to dance with _me_!"

"I saw her first!" Charmy said. "You're out of a job! I'll probably be in the next game!"

"Not with those front teeth, you won't!" Bokkun said, punching Charmy. This was a mistake. Charmy started chasing him around the room, stinging him.

"Ow!" Bokkun cried. "Yeow!" He started sobbing. "I want my mommy!"

"Sonic!" Amy cried, pushing her boyfriend. "Stop this!"

But he didn't need to. Cream suddenly yelled, "KNOCK IT OFF, BOTH OF YOU!!!" When she wanted to, she could be incredibly loud.

"My mother won't let me date, so you're both wasting your time," Cream said. "And I don't want some rowdy boy who hits people, anyway, so you can both just get lost!"

Bokkun and Charmy both left the room, and didn't come back. Cream smacked her forehead. "Great," she said. "I just dumped two guys on the same day!" She put on her coat, then started after them.

"Cream?" Amy said. "Which one are you going after?"

In the doorway, Cream turned and said, "I don't even know yet!" Then she was gone.

"Go get 'em, girl!" Rouge yelled. She turned to Knuckles. "That's a determined woman if I ever saw one. Those two poor shnooks don't have a chance."

"Which one do you think she'll go after?" Knuckles asked his girlfriend, finishing his beer.

"Whoever she goes after, she's already got him," Rouge said. "Now let's get out of here. I think I'm getting some mascara in my eye."

Tails cursed himself. Cream knew what she wanted, and went after it. Why couldn't he be more like that? Cosmo was right, when her dad found out about the show, he'd probably move the whole family again. Tails might never get another chance. He had to risk her laughing at him, or, worse, giving him a look of embarrassed pity.

"Cosmo," he said, "I…I really, really enjoyed working with you."

"Yeah," Cosmo said, "like I said at the end, we had fun, huh? And you'll never forget me?"

"Never," Tails promised. "Cosmo, I-I…I wish I could keep working with you. You're a great actress, and…and…would you like to…go someplace? I mean, if you don't want to, I…I…"

"Are you…asking me out?" Cosmo asked. "For real?"

"I…" Tails turned away. "I'm sorry. I guess I shouldn't have…"

"I was going to walk around the studio one last time before I leave it for good," she said. "You know this place better than I do. Then maybe…um…" She blushed again. "You could walk me home?"

"I'd love to!" Tails said. They left soon afterwards. As he led her around the studio, and they said good-bye to the crew, Tails thought, "So far, so good! Now just don't blow it!"

Then Cosmo's phone went off. "Excuse me," she said. She took her phone out of her purse. "Yes? Galaxina? What's…oh no! Oh! Of course I will!"

"What happened?" Tails asked. Cosmo was shaking.

"Daddy got drunk and hit a cop!" Cosmo sobbed. "Thank goodness Galaxina took our baby brother home first! I'm sorry, Tails! I have to go! My dad's in jail!"

Will Lucas take Cosmo and leave town forever when he gets out of prison? Maybe we'll find out next time!


	3. Chapter 3

SONIC X FINAL CAST PARTY

Chapter Three

"On Borrowed Time"

"Wait!" Tails called, as Cosmo started to run off. "Let me call my mom! It'll be a lot less expensive than if you take a cab!"

"Oh no!" Cosmo said, shaking her head. "I don't want to impose! Besides, he's been there before! It's not that far. I'll just jog!"

"Then I'm coming with you!" Tails told her.

"But you don't have to…"

"Please," Tails said desperately. "It's really not safe for a girl to be running through this town alone!"

Cosmo was surprisingly fast, like her character in the show. Tails, who couldn't really fly, soon found himself out of breath.

"Are you okay?" she asked him, stopping so that he could catch up.

"I'm fine!" Tails wheezed. "I just…need a min…minute!"

"It's very sweet of you to offer to come along," Cosmo said, "but I can take care of myself." She reached into her purse and pulled out a keychain. It had a tiny pepper spray container on it, but what Tails really noticed was the fact that it was a Tails keychain. She suddenly noticed, blushed, and stuffed it back into her purse. "I…oh my gosh! You must think I'm some kind of crazy fan girl!"

"No, no!" Tails said quickly. "I don't think that at all!" Tails felt his heart race a little. If she collected his toys, then she had to like him at least a little bit!

"I'm sorry," she said. "My sisters got me one of you, one of Sonic, one of Knuckles, and one of Shadow. I…I wouldn't have brought this one if I'd known I'd be…I mean…" She covered her face with her hands. "I'm so embarrassed!"

Tails fumbled for something to say. He didn't want to be like the pathetic creature he'd just finished playing in the show, unable to express his feelings until it was too late. But all that came out was, "I'm flattered, really!" D'oh! That sounded so conceited!

"Um…I…uh…" Cosmo sputtered. Then she jumped. "Oh! That's right! Daddy! Excuse me, Tails!"

She took off again. Tails moaned and started after her. This girl could run a marathon!

At the police station, Cosmo stopped and waited for Tails. He puffed down the street, wondering if it was possible for somebody his age to have a heart attack.

"Are you okay?" she asked again. She wasn't even sweating!

"I'm okay!" Tails wheezed, sinking down to his knees. "Go on! S-see your dad! I'll…I'll come in when I…catch my wheeze! breath!:

Cosmo went inside. Tails struggled to get his breathing under control. So much for looking cool in front of her!

Tails went inside once he was able to breath normally. The desk sergeant looked at him suspiciously. "You want something, kid?"

"I'm just waiting for someone," Tails said. "Her dad's inside."

"You mean that ham actor's kid?" the officer asked. "He's lucky he missed the guy he took a poke at. He's really stewed."

"Um…that means drunk, right?" Tails asked.

"Listen, don't get smart with me," the cop warned. "Sit down and keep quiet! I've got work to do!"

Tails sat down and kept quiet, but it seemed that all the desk sergeant did was write on some papers. Tails looked around nervously. He'd never been in a police station before. There were several officers walking around, and a few men in suits. Lawyers or plainclothesmen, he guessed.

A door banged open. "I'll kill you!" a wild-looking man with stringy hair yelled as four cops struggled to drag him down the hall. "You're all dead!" One officer opened a door at the far end of the corridor. They dragged their prisoner inside. The door slammed shut behind them.

"And Cosmo wanted to come here alone?" Tails thought. "She's as brave as the hero she played!" Well, at least that wasn't Cosmo's dad.

Another door opened. Cosmo came out. Her mother was with her. Tails jumped to his feet and hurried over to them.

"Cosmo? Is everything okay?" He bowed to her mother. "Ma'am. I'm sorry."

"You're the little boy from the tv show," Hertia said. "Will you sit with Cosmo for a few minutes?" She patted her daughter on the head. "I'll be right back." She went to the desk sergeant and started filling out some papers.

Tails sat back down. Cosmo sat beside him. She had her hands clasped the way she had in the show. He wanted to ask her what had happened, but not in front of mister sourpuss over there. Besides, it was really none of his business. He realized, in fact, that Cosmo might decide to avoid him in the future because he knew too much about the worst parts of her life.

"I'm sorry," Cosmo muttered.

"Um…excuse me?" Tails said. Was she talking to her father?

"I'm sorry you had to see all of this," Cosmo explained. She looked up at him. "He's not normally like this! But his career failed when the horror movie company he worked for went bankrupt. 'The Fall of the House of Usher,' "The Pit and the Pendulum,' 'Masque of the Red Death,' 'The Call of Cthulhu.' He was the star of all of those movies, but now, because he's fifty, he can't get work! And he's still good, isn't he, Tails? He was very convincing as Dark Oak! I knew he was my daddy, but I was still scared!"

"Yeah, he really made the show," Tails agreed. "I mean--you and he did! You make a great team! So do we!" He blushed. "I mean--we make a great acting team, don' t you think?" D'oh! He still wasn't telling her how he really felt!

"Hey, kid!" the desk sergeant said. "This is a police station, not a lonely hearts' club!"

"Come, Cosmo," her mother said, motioning to her. Tails didn't know what else to do, so he followed them outside.

"What an unpleasant man!" Hertia said once outside. "I am relieved that your father didn't try to strike him! He would have made trouble for us." She looked at Tails. "You are having a party for the end of your program, yes? Would you take Cosmo to it, please?"

"Mother!" Cosmo cried. "How could I enjoy a party with Daddy in jail?"

"Worrying will not help him," her mother said. "I will take you both to your party. Then I must see our attorney. He will not be happy."

"Will Daddy be getting out of jail soon?" Cosmo asked as Tails opened the car door for her.

"Hopefully," her mother said. "He is so angry. I'm afraid we may be moving to your grandmother's farm when he gets out."

"I'm sorry, Tails," Cosmo muttered.

Tails' heart went cold. He wouldn't have much more time with her. He had to tell her at the party. He might never get another chance.

Their car was an old Cadillac. Clearly an expensive car once, but kept longer than they should have. Tails guessed Lucas had purchased it back when he was doing well, and couldn't afford to replace it when he lost his job. Tails had seen the last movie Cosmo had mentioned. The CGI had been incredible. The alien buildings. The out of control vegetation. And especially the giant demon, Cthulhu himself. Lucas had played a sea captain who'd gotten his men to unseal a giant plug in the ground, releasing the demon. He had escaped, leaving his crew to be eaten by the monster, but a smaller creature broke into his house at the end of the picture and carried him away, presumably to its master. The guy had talent. He deserved better than this. Cosmo deserved better than this.

The party was set to move to an old house that Sonic had rented out for the weekend. Tails was afraid that if he told Cosmo's mother about this, she'd throw him out of the car and tell him to stay away from her daughter. Instead, she drove up to the gates. The lights and loud music told them that the rest of the gang was already there.

"Oh my gosh!" Cosmo cried. "Mom! That's the house Daddy did the Edgar Allen Poe movies in!"

"Don't worry, dear," Hertia said. "I assure you, it's not really haunted."

To be continued…


	4. Chapter 4

Here, I attempt to explain the extreme difference between the original Eggman (or Robotnik) from the old games and the other cartoon shows, and the one we saw in Sonic X. The change is just too big for it to be the same guy.

SONIC X FINAL CAST PARTY

Chapter Four

""

"Wait," Tails said as Cosmo continued to stare at the old house. "This is where your dad made his old horror movies?" Come to think of it, Sonic had bragged that he'd rented out a house that used to be in the movies. What a small world!

"Most of them," Cosmo said. "The Call of Cthulhu used this as a mental institution. Daddy was a sea captain, so he wasn't in those scenes. Actually, in the story, he was second mate, but they thought it would be scarier to make him an evil captain." She sighed. "He was always evil in every part they gave him. That's probably why he can't get steady work now."

Of course, Tails knew that Doctor Eggman was getting steady work, but then, he wasn't the original Eggman. They'd started with a rounder man who wore red eye lenses and was made up to look like he was a cyborg or something. When he passed away, they hired a new actor. The games had ignored the difference, although the comic book had come up with a story that the first Eggman had died, and the new one was from another dimension.

"I used to have nightmares about this place!" Cosmo admitted. "I can't believe your friend Sonic would rent this place out!" She shivered. "My sister, Galaxina, played a little ballerina in The Masque of the Red Death here. I wasn't born yet, but she said she always felt that someone was watching her!"

"She was about your age, and had a very vivid imagination," her mother said. "Just like you do. Now stop dawdling, Cosmo. You _do_ want your father out of jail, don't you?"

Cosmo gasped. "Of course I do!" she cried.

"Then go to your party while I see what I can," Hertia told her.

Tails got out of the car, went around, and opened Cosmo's door for her. He helped her out.

"I'm sorry, Mommy!" she said. "I love you!"

As Hertia drove away, Tails couldn't help but think that, if Lucas got out of jail, he'd take Cosmo away from him. He didn't want her dad sitting in prison, of course. He'd heard that terrible things happened to people in there. And Lucas had a big mouth. Tails hadn't realized how complicated life could be until now.

The party was going in full swing. Apparently, Cosmo was the only person in the cast having troubles. Chris was talking animatedly to Big about something. Cream had managed to drag both Bokkun and Charmy over. They were looking daggers at each other while Cream chattered away.

"You two here?" Knuckles asked. He was drunk. "Thought you wondered off to…heh heh! Whoa! I got the head spins!" He staggered off to a chair. He missed the chair, and sat down hard on the floor. "Who pulled the dang chair out from under me?!?" he yelled.

"He can't hold hish liquor!" Rouge said. "Hee hee! He ish sho drunk!" She staggered off to where Knuckles was, tried to sit down in the same chair, and ended up on the floor next to him. "Hee hee! They moved my chair too! The joint'sh haunted!"

"I know what you're thinking," Cosmo said. "Yes, Daddy drinks when he's depressed, but I swear he's never hit any of us!"

"That's not what I was thinking!" Tails said, even though it was.

"Disgusting!" Amy Rose said. Her father was a minister. "Devil rum will be their ruin some day, mark my words!" She turned towards Sonic. "Nicky! You'd better check to make sure these two stewed prunes didn't spike the punch!"

"I just had three glasses, and the punch is fine," Big said, having a fourth glass. He was wearing a suit and a tie. Far from the big dummy he played in the show, Big was taking college courses when his schedule permitted. He wanted to be a lawyer. Tails wished he knew what he wanted to be if the acting parts dried up. He was pretty good at fixing things, although, of course, nowhere near the genius he played. Still, his I.Q. _was_ 140, so he felt he could do better than repairing cars for a living.

"Would you like some punch?" Tails asked Cosmo.

"What?" she said. She hadn't had to fake daydreaming in the show. "I'm sorry, Tails. Did you say something?"

"Would you like some punch?" Tails asked again.

"I don't know," she said. "No, I _do_ know what I want! I want my daddy out of jail! I want him to get steady work so we can stop moving around and I can stay here with you!" She blushed. "I mean--all of you! Um…just in case they…decide to bring me back in a game or a new show or something!"

"I want you to stay, too," Tails told her. "I…" He forced himself to just come right out and say it. "Cosmo, I…I wasn't acting when I said I…"

"Who ordered pizza?!?" Silver shouted, bringing in five boxes.

"Argh!" Tails growled. This was getting to be ridiculous!

Bokkun stopped eating his heart out over the fact that Cream was again dancing with Charmy long enough to grab a pizza. He carried it to where they were dancing.

"Hey, Cream! How 'bout some pizza?"

"Um, maybe later, Bokkun," Cream said as Charmy spun her around. The bee was definitely a much better dancer than Bokkun was.

"Better luck next time!" Charmy said, sticking his tongue out as Bokkun.

"I insist!" Bokkun said, opening the box. He took out a slice of pizza and stuck it on Charmy's face. It had extra cheese, so Charmy had to pull it off. He now had cheese all over his face.

"That's it!" Charmy yelled, jumping Bokkun. Cream watched them fight for a minute, then went over to the refreshment table. She grabbed a large can of soda, shook it up, then went back to where they were still slugging it out. She held the can out towards them, and pulled the tab.

PSHHHTTT!!! The can exploded all over them.

"I said I don't want a rowdy boyfriend!" she yelled. "Now you two grow up and behave yourselves, or I'll beat both of you up! Remember, I'm a second level black belt in Aikido!"

"That is one scary little bunny rabbit!" Amy said. "So how you two kids doing?" she asked Tails and Cosmo. "Aw, your first fight already?" she asked, seeing their faces.

"What?" Cosmo cried. "Oh no! No! Tails and I are just friends!"

The words were like a knife in Tails' heart. "Just friends."

"Sure," Amy said, grinning. "You just keep telling yourself that." She walked away. "Come on, Nicky! Let's dance!"

"Five bucks says Cream beats up Bokkun and takes Charmy," Silver told Shadow.

"You're on!" Shadow said. "I think she'll pick Bokkun!"

"Hey!" Blaze complained. She'd just opened the other boxes of pizza. "No anchovies? I distinctly said anchovies on mine!" She took out her cell phone and called the pizza parlor.

"What is it with cats and fish?" Shadow asked.

"Hello? Yes, I'd like to lodge a complaint!" Blaze said. "I ordered anchovies, and I didn't get them! What do you mean what's that to you? Let me talk to your manager!"

"Tails?" Cosmo said while he was trying to think of something to say to her. "Could you excuse me for a minute? I want to call my sisters. I'll be right back."

Tails sighed. This night was not going well. Bokkun plopped down next to him. "Girls!" he said. He had a black eye and a fat lip. "I think I'll make Charmy the villain in all of my rpgs!" Bokkun played in about a dozen online games. He was a real nerd.

"So you're giving up?" Tails asked him.

"No way!" Bokkun said. "I'll see ya around!" He wondered off.

Cosmo came back a minute later. She looked more shook up than ever. Tails jumped to his feet. He took her hands in his without even thinking about it. She didn't seem to notice.

"Cosmo? What is it?" he asked. "What's wrong?"

"Daddy's friends!" Cosmo sobbed. "You know, they played the other Metarex generals! They--they broke him out of jail! He's on the lam!"

To be continued…


	5. Chapter 5

SONIC X FINAL CAST PARTY

Chapter Five

"A Growing Mystery"

"On…the lam?" Tails repeated.

"I am sorry!" Cosmo said. "I learned your language from watching television!"

"Oh," Tails said. "Sorry. I just never heard anybody say that except on tv."

"Oh dear, then I am using--what is the word?--archaic slang?" Cosmo asked. She bowed. "Please forgive me, but I am very worried! The police believe Daddy and his friends are dangerous! They might…shoot first, and ask questions later!"

Tails didn't mention that she was still quoting old tv shows. He patted her on the hand. "It's okay," he said. "I'm sure your dad will be just fine." He hoped he wasn't lying to her.

"I-I can't stay here any longer!" Cosmo said. "I have to be with Mother and my sisters!" She went to get her purse. Tails sighed. Then he scolded himself. "Cosmo's dad might get killed today, and you're worried about asking her out on a date?! What's the matter with you?"

"Cosmo," Tails said as she started to leave, "I'm so sorry! I hope everything works out okay for your dad." He didn't know what else to say.

"Good -bye, Miles," Cosmo said, calling him by his real name. That made her good-bye sound far more permanent. She didn't expect to see him again. "I was very happy to--to work with you. Good luck, my dear … friend." She started towards the front door.

Tails was just about to offer to take her wherever she needed to go, when she got another call. She took out her phone, looked at it, then gasped. She ran outside, and ducked under a bush. Confused, he watched her, but didn't try to get close enough to hear what she was saying. He saw her eyes bulge, and her jaw drop open. She stared at the phone like it had just bitten her. Then she put it back to her mouth, and started talking fast. "Man, I wish I could read lips!" Tails said to himself. Of course, if she was speaking Seedrian, it wouldn't make any difference. Tails could say hello and good-bye in that language, and that was pretty much it.

When he saw her put her phone away, he backed off. He didn't want her to think he was spying on her, especially since he sort of was. He was surprised when she came back to him and said, "I…think I'll stay here, if it's all right. I mean, until my mother or one of my sisters picks me up."

"Sure," Tails said, wondering what had changed her mind. "Can I get you something to eat?"

"No thanks," she said. "I…just would like to sit down somewhere."

Tails followed her inside. She looked around at the room. Amy and Sonic, along with Cream and Charmy, were dancing to the old Adam West Batman theme song: "Na na na na na na na na Batman!" Shadow,Silver, and Espio were playing poker. Blaze was brushing her hair. Big was eating. There was no sign of Bokkun. Knuckles and Rouge were still on the floor, singing horribly off key.

"How dry I am! How dry I am! Nobody knows…how dry I am!"

Knuckles looked at Rouge. "You're flat!" he said.

"You need glasshesh!" Rouge said. They both roared with laughter.

Cosmo moaned. "I can't even hear myself think in here!" She hurried out of the room, bumping into Vector, who was carrying a large bag of potato chips. "Excuse me!" she said.

Worried, Tails followed her into the library. She sat down at the desk and laid her head against the old cedar. "Why me?" she moaned.

Tails didn't want to disturb her, but he didn't want to leave her alone, either, so he sat down in a chair in front of the bookcase. There were only a few books in there, and they looked like movie props. He wondered if Cosmo's father had used any of them in his pictures. "Necronomicon" one of them read. Wasn't that the name of the book in that movie he'd seen?

"No wonder they had me play a strange loner from a dead race!" Cosmo suddenly sobbed. "Why does my life have to be so crazy?"

"Don't just sit there, stupid!" Tails' brain scolded him. "Go over there and say something to her!"

Tails got up and walked over to Cosmo. "Um…" he said. She looked up at him. Her eyes were full of tears. "Uh…" To his shock, she suddenly threw her arms around him.

"Oh, what am I going to do?! My whole life is falling apart! Daddy's friends are going to get him in so much trouble!"

Tails still didn't have a clue what to say to her. So he just put his arms around her.

"Hey, Tails, I…Whoops!" Ugh! Stupid Sonic! He turned and left the room, but the spell was broken. Cosmo realized what she was doing, and pulled away from Tails with a gasp.

"I-I'm sorry!" she said, not looking at him. "I don't know what I'm doing! We have to be out of the trailer park in four months! Galaxina is working at McDonald's! Mom's teaching Seedrian at the YMCA! And now Daddy's in this hou…mess he's in!" She gasped again, as if she'd said something she shouldn't have. She got up. "Excuse, me!" she said. "I-I have to go!"

Tails thought she was leaving the house, but, instead, she started down the long hallway. Tails hid behind the door so she wouldn't see him watching her. She opened each door, then closed it. At last, she opened one, looked inside, then went in. After a couple of minutes, she closed the door behind her. Tails waited a couple of minutes more before he went to the door. He placed his ear against the door and listened. He didn't hear anything, so he slowly, carefully, opened the door. There was a dim light that came from downstairs. Where had she kept a flashlight on that cute Seedrian outfit of hers? What on Earth was she doing down there? It didn't make sense. He started down the steps when the light suddenly went off.

Tails froze. He couldn't really fly. He was dying to find out what Cosmo was doing, but going down a flight of stairs in total darkness was suicide. He very carefully returned to the top of the steps. He moved one foot just a couple of inches in front of him, then the other. If he'd gotten turned around in the dark, he didn't want to take a tumble over the edge. He could see the headlines: "TAILS THE FOX, KILLED IN FALL IN OLD MONSTER MOVIE MANSION!"

Once he felt the door, he sighed with relief. He opened the door, stepped back into the hall, and closed it behind him. He started back to the living room. Hopefully, Shadow or Silver or somebody had a flashlight.

In the kitchen, he ran into Sonic. "Hey, dude," Sonic said. "Sorry if I broke up something." He was eating a chili dog. Another idea the franchise had picked up on from real life.

"Do you have a flashlight?" Tails asked.

Sonic grinned. "You two gonna rendezvous in the basement?"

Tails sputtered as he felt his face grow warm. "Do you or don't you?!" he demanded.

"Whoa, chill!" Sonic said. "Ask Shadow. He's got all kindsa junk in that old van of his."

Tails returned to the living room. Shadow was glaring at his cards like he wished he could throw a real chaos spear at them. Silver was looking confused like he usually did. Possibly, that was what had gotten him the video game job. Espio was pokerfaced. Apparently, he was skunking both of them. But none of that mattered to Tails.

"Excuse me," he said. "Do any of you have a flashlight?"

"Going down in the basement with Cosmo?" Shadow suggested. It was hardly a surprise that they'd used him to be a sort of evil Sonic. He was more serious, and sort of resembled him. Actually, Sonic and Shadow were distantly related. In fact, they could both trace their family trees back to a nineteenth century swamp woman who had been accused of being a witch. A fascinating plot point that, so far, Sega had chosen to ignore. They seemed more interested in getting ideas from classic anime, like the Metarex saga had been based on Space Cruiser Yamato. Cosmo had gotten the job partly because the world's only hope in that classic series had been called the Cosmo Cleanser.

"Could you just please give it to me?" Tails demanded, trying not to scream.

"I don't have it on me," Shadow said. "I'll go out to my van after a couple more hands. Give me two cards." He threw two down, took two from Espio. "D'oh!"

"Full house!" Espio said, putting his cards down. "Read 'em and weep!"

"I think he's hustling us," Silver said to Shadow.

"Just now figured that out, huh?" Shadow said as Espio started dealing cards again. "Come on, kid! I'll get you that flashlight. Look at my cards and I won't need a chaos spear to deal with you guys!"

They were nearly at the front door when all of the electricity went out.

"Hey! What's going here?" That was Amy Rose.

"Oh cool! Maybe we'll shee a ghosht!" That was Rouge.

"Get out!" came a strange, ghastly voice that seemed to echo everywhere. "Get out!"

To be continued!


	6. Chapter 6

SONIC X FINAL CAST PARTY

Chapter Six

"Solving The Mystery"

"What's going on?" Amy yelled. "Who's trying to wreck our party?"

"I am the ghost who walks the halls of this old house!" the voice said. Everyone looked at each other.

"Whoever's playing around is going to get a punch in the nose!" Shadow said.

"Shilly," Rouge said. "You _drink_ punch, you don't shtick it up your noshe!" She and Knuckles roared with laughter.

"Man, are those two plastered!" Sonic said. "Remind me not to invite Knucklehead to anymore parties!"

"I've got a couple of shuriken from the show," Espio said.

"I've got a pico-pico hammer in my car," Amy said.

"I've got a baseball bat in my trunk," Shadow said.

"I got a rock!" Knuckles said.

"I shat in a pumpkin patch all night, and all I shaw wash a beagle!" Rouge yelled. They started laughing again.

"Let's ignore dumb and dumber, and find out who's behind this!" Shadow said.

Tails had a bad feeling he knew who was behind this. But…they'd have to be crazy to think they could scare everybody with ghost tricks. He wished they'd waited until after he'd gotten his flashlight to start acting up. Now he didn't know what to do.

"Where do you think that voice is coming from?" Sonic asked, looking around.

"Thataway!" Rouge said, crossing her arms and pointing in opposite directions.

Tails' decision was quickly taken from him. "That sounds like that idiot, Bokkun!" Charmy said. "I'm gonna knock his block off!"

"You blockhead!" Rouge yelled. She got up, staggered across the room, and threw up in Sonic's water cooler.

"Hey!" Sonic yelled. "You're buying me a replacement!" He gasped. "Hey! I had two chili dogs in there!"

"Oh, here they are!" Rouge said, bringing them to him.

"Eww!" Sonic said. "You keep 'em!"

"One for you, and one for me," Rouge said, returning to Knuckles. They pigged out, then ran out of the house, presumably to be sick.

"Beware the ghostly ghouls of this crumbling edifice!" came the voice.

"Bokkun must have a thesaurus," Amy said.

"I'm gonna kill that dweeb!" Charmy said. "I think his voice is coming from upstairs!" He started running towards the staircase. Charmy couldn't actually fly.

Cream smacked her forehead. "If Bokkun's going to do something to impress me, he could at least do it right!" she said. She started up the steps. "I'd better stop Charmy from killing him!"

Tails sighed with relief. If Bokkun was upstairs playing ghost, then Cosmo, who had gone down into the cellar, would be safe. At least for now. But if Tails was right about why she had gone down there, then she was an accessory to a crime. And by not saying anything, so was he! "It must be love!" he said to himself. "I'm risking jail time for her!"

"Beware the thing that creeps in the night!" the strange voice went on. "For it shall…AHHH!"

"I got you, you little faker!" came Charmy's voice over head. "I'm gonna kick your…"

"Charmy!" came Cream's voice. "Look out! You're gonna drop him down the stairs!"

There was a banging sound. Everyone except Knuckles and Rouge rushed up the stairs. Charmy was beating the stuffing out of Bokkun. Cream was picking herself up off the floor.

"He pushed me!" Cream yelled. "You stupid bee! Hai-yah!" She kicked Charmy, knocking him across the room. Cream bent over Bokkun.

"Are you okay?" Cream asked.

"Dude," Sonic said to Charmy. "Totally uncool to hit girls!"

"It was an accident!" Charmy said. "Wow, can that girl kick!"

"I forgot where I'm parked!" Bokkun said, dazed.

"You're eight," Cream said. "You don't drive." She helped him to his feet. "You sure don't fight, either! The Bokkun Kick doesn't really work, does it?"

"Well, it made him madder," Bokkun said. "So it must have done something!" He felt his mouth. "I think he knocked a tooth loose. Oh, no, wait, just my gum. Never mind!"

"Wow, you're as big a weirdo in real life as you were on the show!" Cream said. "Do you think you can get down the stairs without falling?"

"I think so," Bokkun said, as Cream helped him down.

"You blew it, kid," Shadow said to Charmy.

"Yeah, girls don't like bullies," Amy said. "Especially ones that hit them!"

"But it was an accident!" Charmy insisted. "Somebody grabbed my arm, and I pushed them out of the way. I didn't know it was her!"

"You're lucky I don't really have a bad temper like I did in that show!" Amy said. "But I _do_ have a pico-pico hammer in my car! Want me to show you how it works?"

Charmy backed away from her. "Y-you wouldn't!"

Tails went downstairs. He didn't want to watch if they were going to beat Charmy up. The bee wasn't a bad guy. He just didn't think before he acted.

Cream was holding a wet napkin against Bokkun's eye. "No more rowdiness, I mean it, idiot!" she said. "Or next time _I'll_ be the one that beats you up!"

Well, it looked like Cream had picked Bokkun. Tails would have been very surprised if he hadn't been so worried. Tails returned to the kitchen. As he opened the door, he nearly ran into Cosmo.

"Oh!" she cried. She looked very guilty. "T-Tails! Um…hi! I was just looking for the…bathroom!"

"I need to talk to you, Cosmo," Tails said quietly.

"I'm very hungry right now," Cosmo said, trying to get past him. "Couldn't we talk later?"

"No, we need to talk right now," Tails insisted. He lowered his voice. "And you just changed your story."

Cosmo turned and ran for the back door. Tails followed her. She ran out of the house and towards a bush. She leaped over it. She was a good gymnast, and her leaping ability in the show had been based on her screen test. Tails had to go around the bush. The flying had been a part of the show. Too bad the extra tail was real. It had made it very difficult for him to make friends. On the other hand, it had made him stand out enough to get the sidekick job in the first place.

Cosmo finally ran down a dark alley.

Tails stopped. "Cosmo! Come back! It can be dangerous going in there!" He sighed and started down the alley. If they ran into a gang, they were toast!

Tails raced through the alley. Best to get out as soon as possible.

Fortunately, he didn't run into anyone in the alley. Unfortunately, he didn't see Cosmo anywhere when he came out. He stopped and leaned against a tree to catch his breath. Then the lights went on in the house he was standing in front of. "You brats get off my property! I'm getting my gun!" an old man yelled. Tails ran down the street. At the corner, he looked around again for Cosmo, then headed sadly back to the house.

The party was still going on like he'd never left it. Well, most of them ignored him anyway. Knuckles liked to make comments about Tails' only power being the ability to fly by the seat of his pants.

Inside, Tails found Knuckles and Rouge sleeping it off. Sonic and Amy were off in a corner whispering. Cream was still chewing out Bokkun for fighting. He didn't see anyone else. The party was already breaking up.

Then he noticed the flashlight by the microwave. There was a note near it.

"Miles,

"Here's the flashlight you wanted. Leave it at the studio for me tomorrow. I'm heading home to work on my next video.

"Shadow."

Tails was surprised. Shadow wasn't much like the character he played, but he usually ignored him. Tails took the light and headed for the cellar door. He noticed footprints. Cosmo's footprints. They hadn't been there before, so she must have come back. Tails opened the cellar door and clicked on the light. It was a powerful flashlight, the beam brighter than he would have liked, since he was trying to sneak down without being noticed. But he couldn't stop now.

Tails started down the steps. His shoes seemed to echo loudly. So much for the element of surprise. If he was right, then he was in real danger here. But Cosmo needed help, and he wasn't about to just leave her. He just hoped she wouldn't hate him.

Near the bottom of the steps, Tails saw a light under a doorway. He stepped down onto the cellar floor, then turned off the light. He moved as quietly as he could to the door and listened.

"You're sure no one saw you?" a familiar voice demanded.

"No, no one." That was Cosmo. She sounded scared.

"I don't want you coming down here again until I call for you," the other speaker said. "I mean it, Cosmo! You're going to get us both in trouble!"

"I'm sorry!" Cosmo cried. "I didn't mean to! It's not my fault Tails noticed me when…" He heard her gasp and stop. But it was too late.

"You said no one saw you!" the other voice said angrily. "What's the matter with you?! I give you one job to do, and you can't even do it right!"

"I'm sorry, Daddy!" Cosmo sobbed. So Tails was right. Lucas _was_ hiding there. Causing her trouble in real life, just like Dark Oak had in the show.

Tails would never know what he would have done next because that decision was suddenly taken away from him. A big hand grabbed his shoulder. Tails froze.

"What do we have here?" Tails heard. "I think you'd better go in, kid!"

His captor opened the door. Inside, Cosmo sat on a chair, crying. Lucas was pacing the floor. When the door opened, he turned towards Tails and growled.

"Zelkova!" Lucas yelled. "What's _he_ doing here?!?"

"He was outside the door listening," Yellow Zelkova said. He was wearing a grunge outfit, and looked even scarier than he had in the show.

"Oh, Tails!" Cosmo sobbed. "Why did you follow me? Now you're involved in all of this!"

"I'm not leaving you alone now!" Tails said bravely, even though his heart was pounding. "Let me go, you big bully!"

"I'm sorry, princess," Lucas said to his daughter. "But we have a problem now."

To be concluded


End file.
